Landscape designer in SW Washington

Name: FloraStone Studio
Address: Portland, OR, US
Telephone: (503) 847-2714
Price range: $$

A complete landscape begins with a design you can understand before construction. FloraStone Studio plans SW Washington outdoor spaces in photorealistic 3D with detailed plans, then trusted installation partners handle the build. Find the local guide that best fits your property below.

Designed around your property

One region, different starting points for landscape design

SW Washington is not one kind of backyard. Across the Columbia and Clark County communities, an established urban garden, a wooded hillside, a newer residential lot, and a larger rural-residential property can ask very different things of a landscape plan. Regional weather is a shared consideration, but light, soil, drainage, grade, and available space must be understood at the property level.

Use the city guides below to find the starting point closest to your home. Vancouver discusses established and newer lots, wet-season surfaces, and connected gathering spaces. Camas focuses on wooded and hillside settings and usable terraces. Ridgefield considers practical backyard gathering and privacy, with approved local project media. Brush Prairie explores the connections between the house, outdoor rooms, and planting on larger properties. These are design considerations, not boundaries on the kind of project we can discuss.

Begin Your Design

SW Washington project views

Covered patios, entry steps, and curved paving

These four views show Vancouver’s roof-covered patio, Camas’s gray paver patio below a deck, Brush Prairie’s broad entry steps and hydrangea beds, and Washougal’s curved patio with stone edging. The captions identify the location of each photograph.

Paver patio beneath a solid-roof cover with a ceiling fan, broad steps, large planters, and evergreen shrubs in Vancouver — Roof-covered paver patio with a ceiling fan, broad steps, large planters, and evergreen shrubs · Vancouver, Washington

Large gray paver patio below a glass-railed deck, with a curved low block wall and dark paver borders in Camas — Paver patio on upper retaining wall terrace · Camas, Washington

Wide block-and-paver steps leading to a covered porch, flanked by block walls, pale green hydrangeas, and mulched flower beds in Brush Prairie — Wide entry steps and raised block walls surrounded by hydrangeas, flower beds, and lawn · Brush Prairie, Washington

Curved paver patio beside a wood-sided house, edged with dark pavers, a strip of light stones, and a short block wall in Washougal — Curved patio with a dark paver border, light stone edging, and a short block wall beside the house · Washougal, Washington

A landscape designed as one whole

Paver patios planned for daily use

Across SW Washington, the right patio is the one that supports the way you use the property. We begin with the relationship to the house, the furniture and activities to accommodate, and the paths that should remain clear. A compact backyard and a broad rural lot need different proportions, not simply different quantities of pavers.

Material choices consider appearance, seasonal moisture, maintenance, and the surrounding landscape. We coordinate patio edges with planting, walls, and circulation so the result reads as a designed room rather than an isolated slab of hardscape.

Explore paver patio design

Block retaining walls and usable terraces

Block retaining walls can help organize level changes into usable terraces, but they are not necessary on every property. We consider which areas need to be level, which slopes can remain planted, and where steps or landings will connect them.

Concrete retaining wall blocks and segmental systems are selected as part of the complete material plan. The site’s soils, drainage, loads, and wall dimensions influence the appropriate structural solution; qualified professionals must address engineering and permit requirements wherever needed.

Explore retaining wall design

Outdoor living as a complete plan

A regional design approach means asking consistent questions, not repeating a standard backyard layout. Where will you gather? Which views should remain open? What needs shade, screening, or a quieter setting? We develop those answers into a complete 3D composition before deciding how individual features should look.

Planting design that completes the space

Planting choices respond to the microconditions within a property as well as the wider Pacific Northwest climate. Native and climate-adapted plants may both have a place, depending on light, soil, water, and available space. The plan considers mature size, seasonal structure, establishment care, and long-term maintenance alongside the hardscape.

Explore the FloraStone portfolio

From consultation to partner installation

On-site consultation
We walk the property with you, discuss how you want to use it, and consider light, soil, grade, drainage, access, and the features you want to keep. Bring your priorities and questions, not a finished solution. This conversation defines the scope of the design and the decisions that need closer investigation.
3D design and detailed plans
We compose the complete landscape in photorealistic 3D, paired with planting and hardscape plans. Patio proportions, wall placement, circulation, plant selections, and outdoor rooms are considered together. The model helps you understand the relationship between spaces rather than approving individual materials in isolation.
The design reveal
Review the proposed landscape from the places you will actually experience it: the house, the patio, and the paths between outdoor rooms. We discuss materials, priorities, and refinements before construction. A complete vision also helps identify sensible phases when you prefer not to install everything at once.
Installation through trusted partners
Trusted installation partners handle construction from the agreed design. FloraStone provides the design direction; the contractor confirms construction methods, site conditions, installation scope, and schedule. Required engineering, permitting, and specialist work must be addressed by the appropriate professionals before affected work proceeds.

Design first, rather than installation first

An installer-first conversation often begins with a specific job: pave this area, build that wall, or replace those plants. That can be a useful approach when the scope is already settled. When the whole yard needs to work differently, deciding each piece separately can leave awkward transitions, unused corners, or planting squeezed into whatever space remains.

FloraStone starts with the whole property and how you want to live in it. You see the complete design in 3D before building, with materials and spaces considered as one plan. We are a design studio, not the construction crew. Trusted installation partners bring the approved vision to life, while construction requirements are confirmed separately. Landscape design does not replace engineering or permitting.

A design background, with regional experience

FloraStone brings 25+ years of experience to the relationship between outdoor space, materials, and planting. Our background includes Parsons School of Design and Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD), alongside a BBB A+ rating and licensed designer credentials.

Landscape design questions

Do I need a landscape designer or a landscaper?

Choose a landscape designer when you need to resolve layout, materials, planting, and the relationship between outdoor spaces before building. A landscaper or landscape contractor may provide installation or maintenance; services vary, so ask what is included. FloraStone develops the complete design in 3D and detailed plans, while trusted installation partners handle construction.

What affects the cost of landscape design?

Design cost depends on the area being studied, the complexity of the site and grade, the number of outdoor rooms and features, the detail required, and the scope of revisions or phasing. Existing conditions and the need for specialist information can also affect the work. The consultation helps define a project-specific design scope; installation, engineering, and permit costs are separate considerations. We do not use a single price for every yard.

What materials do you consider for block retaining walls?

We consider concrete retaining wall blocks and segmental wall systems, including options from Belgard and Western Interlock, with caps, textures, and colors coordinated with the patio and planting. Material selection is more than appearance: wall height, soil, loading, drainage, and available space affect suitability. The installer and, where required, an engineer must confirm the structural system, reinforcement, and construction details. A decorative garden edge is not interchangeable with a structural retaining wall.

Who is responsible for design and who handles installation?

FloraStone is responsible for the landscape design, photorealistic 3D presentation, detailed plans, and design selections within the agreed scope. Trusted installation partners are responsible for construction. Before work starts, confirm who will obtain permits, arrange any engineering, verify utilities and site conditions, and complete specialist work. Our design services do not replace those requirements.

Let's envision your SW Washington space.

Tell us about your property and we'll show you what's possible — in photorealistic 3D, before anything begins.

Begin Your Design · (503) 847-2714

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